On The Road With Josh #1 - Tales From The Road

Josh is currently on tour with a national musical touring show company. To keep his sanity amidst the natives, he is emailing travelogues out from the road. He has graciously agreed to let me post them here for your enjoyment.

Names of some identifiable theaters, towns and country music stars have been edited to protect Josh from identifying Google searchs. CAPITALIZED NOUNS indicate my only edits to his posts.

Fans, who wish to track Josh's ongoing travels can read his previous entries here.

On The Road With Josh #1:
Tales From The Road

Dear All,

Well hello! Long time no speaky-speak. Finally, I have some time to sit and type like the wind.

Currently, I am in Niceville, Florida. Would ya believe it -- it's actually kind of nice...and rainy....and cold. We just came from Meridian, Mississippi, where we performed at the Riley Center, a gorgeous $23 million renovated opera house with a patchy light system (hah, ha....puns...) The big story thus far comes from Greenville, NC....at A LOCAL University. There was no wing space in which to negotiate the large set pieces and stuff. BUT, the staff (comprised of some economics, music, and accounting majors, with a music teacher for a TD) was less than ideal. These guys were an average of 20 years old, hopped up on the promise of sex, and about as dopey as you can get when it comes to basic motor functions:

US: Could you get on the head set and tell the SM the door latch is broken.
THEM: Uh, the what?
US: The door latch.
THEM: What's that.
US: Just please tell the SM it is broken.
THEM: The door's broken?
US: The door latch.
THEM (on headset:) The door's busted.

.......ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

They finished out the evening of load out by shouting obscenities at each other, and introducing us to the term "cock holster." In context, "Shut yer cock holsters an' git back to work." They called me a fag at one point, and now have a lawyer from the big government home base to answer to. This is the only time I think I can safely say I am happy to be an American with a government who cares...

The shows have been incredibly well received at our venues thus far. The kids go fuckin' wild at everything - the pre show announcement, the lights out, a pin dropping.

The entire experience thus far, however, doesn't impress me. The perks are perky, the benefits are beneficial, and the people are great....but it's just like anything else I have ever done. The costume designer took two other people and five months with $7000 to only kind of finish the show by opening in Rockville, Maryland. Half of the stuff isn't surged, or is now falling a little apart because it's been in a box for a year. She's a sweet woman, and I'm sure is an excellent follower but as a designer I have to say she kind of floored me with some of the unprofessional finishing of the costumes. I'm not perfect, and I know that, but picture what is less than what you know me to accomplish, and there you have her work...FOR AN EQUITY THEATRE UNDER WHICH SHE IS HIRED AS A UNION DESIGNER!

The man behind the green curtain is just a man behind a green curtain, when it comes to theatre at this level. I suppose it was good for me to expect something completely different with my background in being frugal and working late nights, etc.; that the hard work and sacrifice allowed me to really build up a set of tools that I could not have found in grad school. But at the same time, now the job just seems like a pay check. I have at least been able to prove my worth with problem solving, organization, building a few things, altering a few others, and ultimately being a super duper truck driver. Seriously, it's kind of gross and exciting that I am so good at driving a demi-big-rig.

But I'm glad I'm here, too. I don't know what I would be doing back in Chicago right now to better my own personal cause and future. And though it's tough for me to release the responsibility and care and dedication to designing and decision-making on certain levels here, it's also nice not to be totally in charge and at fault for something.

Gonna have to do more later, as someone else needs to use the computer. Let me know how you're doing when you can, PLEASE. I'm seriously near my phone at all times, even if you think we wouldn't be able to have a conversation, we would!

Lovin' to all of you, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Joshua